Bill Text: CA AB1902 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: California State Preschool Program: part-day preschool: fees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-06-23 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1902 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1902-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1902	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bonta

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2014

   An act to amend Sections 8239 and 8273 of the Education Code,
relating to preschool.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1902, as introduced, Bonta. California State Preschool Program:
part-day preschool: fees.
   Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, is
enacted for, among other purposes, the purpose of providing a
comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective system of child care
and development services for children from infancy to 13 years of age
and their parents, including a full range of supervision, health,
and support services through full- and part-time programs. Existing
law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer
all California state preschool programs. Existing law requires those
programs to include, but not be limited to, part-day age and
developmentally appropriate programs designed to facilitate the
transition to kindergarten for three- and four-year-old children in
educational development, health services, social services,
nutritional services, parent education and parent participation,
evaluation, and staff development.
   Existing law requires fees to be assessed and collected for
families with children in a part-day preschool program and requires
the Superintendent to establish a fee schedule for families using
preschool and child care and development services pursuant to the
act.
   This bill would eliminate the requirement for families to be
assessed these fees for part-day preschool and for the Superintendent
to establish a fee schedule for families using the part-day
preschool program.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 8239 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   8239.  The Superintendent shall encourage state preschool program
applicants or contracting agencies to offer full-day services through
a combination of part-day preschool slots and wraparound general
child care and development programs. In order to facilitate a
full-day of services, all of the following shall apply:
   (a) Part-day preschool programs provided pursuant to this section
shall operate between 175 and 180 days.
   (b) Wraparound general child care and development programs
provided pursuant to this section may operate a minimum of 246 days
per year unless the child development contract specified a lower
minimum days of operation. Part-day general child care and
development programs may operate a full-day for the remainder of the
year after the completion of the preschool program.
   (c) Part-day preschool services combined with wraparound child
care services shall be reimbursed at no more than the full-day
standard reimbursement rate for general child care programs with
adjustment factors, pursuant to Section 8265 and as determined in the
annual Budget Act.
   (d) Three- and four-year-old children are eligible for wraparound
child care services to supplement the part-day California state
preschool program if the family meets at least one of the criteria
specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 8263, and
the parents meet at least one of the criteria specified in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a) of Section 8263.
   (e) Fees shall be assessed and collected for  families
with children in part-day preschool programs, or  families
receiving wraparound child care services,  or both, 
pursuant to Article 11.5 (commencing with Section 8273).
   (f) The Superintendent shall annually report to the Department of
Finance, on or before October 1 of each year, the fees collected from
families who have children enrolled in the California state
preschool program.  The report shall distinguish between
family fees collected for part-day preschool programs and fees
collected for wraparound child care services. 
   (g) For purposes of this section, "wraparound child care services"
and "wraparound general child care and development programs" mean
services provided for the remaining portion of the day or remainder
of the year following the completion of part-day preschool services
that are necessary to meet the child care needs of parents eligible
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 8263. These services shall be
provided consistent with the general child care and development
programs provided pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section
8240).
  SEC. 2.  Section 8273 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   8273.  (a) The Superintendent shall establish a fee schedule for
families using preschool and child care and development services
pursuant to this chapter, including families receiving services
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 8263. It is
the intent of the Legislature that the new fee schedule shall be
simple and easy to implement.
   (b) The family fee schedule shall retain a flat monthly fee per
family. The schedule shall differentiate between fees for part-time
care and full-time care.
   (c) Using the most recently approved family fee schedule pursuant
to subdivision (f) of Section 8447, families shall be assessed a flat
monthly fee based on income, certified family need for full-time or
part-time care services, and enrollment, and shall not be based on
actual attendance.  No   A  recalculation
of a family fee shall  not  occur if attendance varies from
enrollment unless a change in need for care is assessed.
   (d) The Superintendent shall design the new family fee schedule
based on the state median income data that was in use for the 2007-08
fiscal year, adjusted for family size. The revised family fee
schedule shall begin at income levels at which families currently
begin paying fees. The revised fees shall not exceed 10 percent of
the family's monthly income. The Superintendent shall first submit
the adjusted fee schedule to the Department of Finance for approval.
   (e) The income of a recipient of federal supplemental security
income benefits pursuant to Title XVI of the federal Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1381 et seq.) and state supplemental program
benefits pursuant to Title XVI of the federal Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 1381 et seq.) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
12000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
shall not be included in total countable income for purposes of
determining the amount of the family fee.
   (f) Family fees shall be assessed at initial enrollment and
reassessed at update of certification or recertification.
   (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the new family fees
shall be cost neutral to the state and generate roughly the same
amount of revenue as was generated under the previous family fee
schedule. 
   (h) The authority provided to the Superintendent to establish a
fee schedule pursuant to this section shall not apply to the part-day
preschool program provided pursuant to Section 8239.